Embarkation (Encore Alaska) to Cocktails but first I need alot of help

[annster31]

 first time on NCL ( 8 of us , 3 cabins) Encore out of Seattle have the 930-1000 boarding time, looking for a plan to get done what needs to be done and relax. Sorry for the amount of questions.

1. At the port building  in Seattle can you switch over to "on Board" or wifi only works on ship?

2. Looking to book the shows best way to do it? Is this for the week or just one night at a time? I see on you tube there is a box office should some of us go there?

3. Spa reservations ( not available before online), will that go live on the app once on ship or are some of us heading to the spa?

4. Dinner reservations we would be  looking for a 6 pm , where is the best place to do that  and is that done nightly or for the whole week?

5. Are the go karts reserved one day at a time or for the whole week? At the track I assume?

6. We got our reservation 2 weeks ago a lot of the shore excursions  were filled, someone to the shore excursion desk to see if cancellations ? Or will that show on the APP once on board?

7. Is there anything i missed?

Thank you for any advise.

[coastcat]

1 hour ago, annster31 said:

 first time on NCL ( 8 of us , 3 cabins) Encore out of Seattle have the 930-1000 boarding time, looking for a plan to get done what needs to be done and relax. Sorry for the amount of questions.

1. At the port building  in Seattle can you switch over to "on Board" or wifi only works on ship? If you’re close enough, yes. I’ve been able to connect to the ship network from the terminal. You might not be able to connect to your internet package just yet, but you’ll have the app services available. 
 

FYI, early boarding means you’re there while disembarking passengers are milling around outside. Drop off your bags to the right of the Pier 66 entrance and then go left and around for the early arrival entrance. 
 

2. Looking to book the shows best way to do it? Is this for the week or just one night at a time? I see on you tube there is a box office should some of us go there? You can reserve shows, go-kart times, and restaurants either in person or on the handy touchscreens by the elevators on all floors. See the daily sheet for locations. You’ll find restaurant reservations in Teppanyaki (deck 6), theater reservations at the theater box office (deck 7), and everything else at The Social (deck 6 across from Teppanyaki).

 

3. Spa reservations ( not available before online), will that go live on the app once on ship or are some of us heading to the spa? Head to the spa. Enter the raffle as long as you’re there. 
 

4. Dinner reservations we would be  looking for a 6 pm , where is the best place to do that  and is that done nightly or for the whole week? Onda and Ocean Blue book up quickly, so definitely reserve those ASAP. Go in person or use the app, touchscreen, cabin TV, or cabin phone. You can book later but for best availability and prime seating times, get it done shortly after boarding.

 

5. Are the go karts reserved one day at a time or for the whole week? At the track I assume? At the touchscreens. Do this FIRST when you board. Those time slots go fast.

 

6. We got our reservation 2 weeks ago a lot of the shore excursions  were filled, someone to the shore excursion desk to see if cancellations ? Or will that show on the APP once on board? Certainly worth a try. You can go to the ShoreEx desk, check the app, check the touchscreen, or check on your cabin TV. If nothing interesting is available, don’t worry, you’ll find plenty to book when you arrive in each port.

 

7. Is there anything i missed? When boarding, reserve the go-karts first, then visit your muster station second. All stations are in the central 678 Place area as are the locations to book restaurants and activities, so the latter is your third move. If you want to avoid the buffet crowds, lunch will be available in the two deck 6 dining rooms (Taste and Savor) and The Local on deck 7, plus there’s a light lunch buffet in the Observation Lounge on deck 15.

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by coastcat

[MCMC100]

Just got off on 7/17 so I can answer some questions……

 

1). On board WiFi only worked (sporadically) for us on board. Your regular mobile service will provide service in port building. However, check in is very busy. Lots of people trying to access Wi-Fi in port. Most mobile Wi-Fi systems will be slow and possibly overwhelmed.   We found that the app did not sync with our onboard reservations. Items always missing. Your cabin tv will display your daily calendar and that was always accurate.
 

2). We booked shows onboard. Usually you book days in advance but I think low capacity has altered that (only 3300 when we sailed). You will find large video terminals on each deck near the stairs/ elevators. You use the boards to book shipboard entertainment/ meals/go karts/ laser tag.  They are fairly easy to use. You pick your activity ( based on availability), pick a time slot, enter your cabin number, your done. We saw Kinky Boots and it was open seating. Choir of Man was also open seating but it was rescheduled to an inconvenient time so we didn’t see it. 
 

3).  Can’t help with spa.

 

4). If booking speciality dining book ASAP at the 120 day mark through the app.  If you are sailing soon and don’t have reservations you can try the app now, but for 8 people I suspect your options will be extremely limited. Onboard use the video boards or talk with a reservation person at a desk near the Atrium Bar on deck 6. Specialty dining fills fast and we noted that the video boards frequently said “no availability “ yet when we dined they had many open tables. I believe on embarkation you can book speciality dining in Teppanyaki. Manhattan, Taste, Savor, buffet and the Local are walk up. In the past you could reserve times at M, T and S, but not on our cruise. I assume it’s because of low capacity. Never had more than a few minute wait (usually for 5 people).
 

5).  The go karts are booked for the entire cruise on the video boards. They are only open certain times and the available times/slots available will be shown on the boards. We were able to find times but if it rains or is too rough they cancel. They don’t reschedule you. If you’re canceled they refund your onboard account, but you need to find a new time slot. In the past you could reserve go karts and other entertainment the morning of embarkation in the Social Comedy Club on desk 6. We didn’t need that so didn’t check on our cruise, but it may be an option for you. Although the video boards are simple and accessing the same reservation system you can’t get questions answered like you can in the Social when dealing with a person. Make reservations ASAP after boarding.  It fills up FAST. 

 

6).  Shore excursion desk on deck 6 can help. Also canceled excursions will be displayed on the video boards. Check the boards often. Usually you must cancel at 24 or 48 hours before excursion so Wednesday excursions will be canceled by Monday or Tuesday morning. Very few same day cancels. 
 

I would encourage you to print boarding pass, ArriveCAN documents and negative Covid results. Don’t rely on electronic versions on your phone. They check for different things at different times in different stages of boarding process. Much simpler and quicker to show 8 negative test results on paper then play around with numerous phones that may be locked or struggling to connect to an overloaded Verizon Wi-Fi system. You are checking in about same time did. Took 30-45 minutes to slowly go through entire process. We walked right on when we finished. The safety drill has been replaced with a video that NCL will send you about 5 times. As soon as you board go to your muster station (they give you a sheet paper as you board telling you were to go) have your key card scanned and enjoy a cocktail. You’re ready to go…..

 

Have fun. We did. If you have a question ask….I’ll do my best to answer. 

[mkkao924]

I am still a little bit confused about the port arrival time. The boarding time is 12pm, so if your port arrive time is 9:30, do you just wait in terminal building until 12?

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, annster31 said:

 first time on NCL ( 8 of us , 3 cabins) Encore out of Seattle have the 930-1000 boarding time, looking for a plan to get done what needs to be done and relax. Sorry for the amount of questions.

1. At the port building  in Seattle can you switch over to "on Board" or wifi only works on ship?

2. Looking to book the shows best way to do it? Is this for the week or just one night at a time? I see on you tube there is a box office should some of us go there?

3. Spa reservations ( not available before online), will that go live on the app once on ship or are some of us heading to the spa?

4. Dinner reservations we would be  looking for a 6 pm , where is the best place to do that  and is that done nightly or for the whole week?

5. Are the go karts reserved one day at a time or for the whole week? At the track I assume?

6. We got our reservation 2 weeks ago a lot of the shore excursions  were filled, someone to the shore excursion desk to see if cancellations ? Or will that show on the APP once on board?

7. Is there anything i missed?

Thank you for any advise.

1. Normally not. You have to wait for the ship to turn over from the prior cruise to your cruise to connect. And the reception in the terminal is pretty bad once they turn over. 
 

2. Show and activity reservations are done in The Social comedy club, Deck 6 mid-ship. Once you enter the club, there will be a show list of all of the shows for the week. You can check off the shows you want and go to a agent there to get them booked. 
 

5. You can book at The Social or on one of the touch screen kiosks located in public elevator lobbies. Go Kart times sell out quickly. Book as soon as you board for the week. 
 

4. Once you have your shows booked, walk across the hall to Teppanyaki, Deck 6 mid-ship, to make dinner reservations around the shows you booked. Prime time dining sells out quickly on Embarkation day, so if you didn’t prebook dinner reservations exactly 120 days prior to departure online, get them quick for the week. 
 

3. Go to the Spa, Deck 16 Aft, to make reservations. There is sometimes a spa desk in the Atrium, Deck 6 mid-ship, on embarkation day to help. 
 

6. Tour providers have had problems with getting seasonal staff and have cancelled a lot of tours. If there is something you want, don’t delay in booking. There will always be cancellations onboard, so check and get on a wait list. There are vendors at a lot of ports, but it will be hit and miss this year. 
 

7. Here are two links. The first is to our Encore cruise to Alaska last year. The second is to an Encore cruise to the Caribbean a few months ago. Both are just to give you an idea on what is happening on the ship. 
 

 

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

FYI, early boarding means you’re there while disembarking passengers are milling around outside. Drop off your bags to the right of the Pier 66 entrance and then go left and around for the early arrival entrance. 

In Oct and May, early baggage drop off was to the left of the Pier (by Anthony's).

[MCMC100]

Yes. Your check in time is used to control the number of people arriving at the pier. They begin around 9am and are staggered thru the morning. They are, at best, suggestions. I have never been turned away for arriving earlier than the time on boarding pass (however with Covid and each port being different you never know if they stop you and tell you to come back at the correct time. It’s a possibility). The earlier you arrive and get thru the check in process (a 30 - 40 minute process) the lower your boarding group number. If you have a low boarding group you will be on the ship a few minutes before others and have first crack at go karts, available dining slots and other entertainment.

The noon boarding time is an approximate time. When they have emptied the ship and done some basic housekeeping and admin duties onboard they begin boarding with Haven and other preferred passengers, then thru the boarding groups in order, then general boarding. For our cruise in July we began boarding about 1115 and I walked on immediately after completing check in process at about 1140 with general boarding. I have been first on board and walked on with general boarding. All depends on your situation that day and what you may want to accomplish immediately after boarding. An early check in and low boarding group number may get you a 15-20 minute head start on booking things.  It is less of an issue now due to lower capacity numbers, but it has been an issue in the past and will return when they start sailing with full ships. 

[coastcat]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

In Oct and May, early baggage drop off was to the left of the Pier (by Anthony's).

I wonder why? In late April (second sailing of the season), the baggage was in the usual spot. Is this like the Costco "treasure hunt" where you have to wander around to find where they've moved the mustard to this week?

[ChiefMateJRK]

31 minutes ago, coastcat said:

I wonder why? In late April (second sailing of the season), the baggage was in the usual spot. Is this like the Costco "treasure hunt" where you have to wander around to find where they've moved the mustard to this week?

They may shift it to the main area after most of the disembarking passengers have cleared.